Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Types And Design Basics
Electronics are a very important part of our daily lives. At the heart of these electronics is the printed circuit board (PCB). In addition to this, printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) refers to the combination of electronic accessories and PCB, components. We can say that PCBA is the PCB with components assembled. There different types of PCB and each with their own material types, manufacturing specifications, and usages.
Rigid PCB
A rigid PCB is the most common type and accounts for the majority of PCBAs. The solid core provides the board thickness and rigidity. Rigid PCBs can have various different layer configurations such as a single layer, double layer or multi-layer Rigid PCBs. Their base consists of some different materials and fiberglass is the most common. Less expensive PCBs are made with materials like phenolics or epoxies though these are less durable than fiberglass. This is used in many parts of the computer such as RAM, GPU, and CPU because the lifespan of this type of PCB is very high.
Flexible PCB
They are more flexible compared to rigid PCB’s. These PCB’s can be folded over edges as well as wrapped around corners. The material of Flexible PCB’s tends to be a bendable and high-temperature plastic. They use flexible plastic material such as polyimide, transparent conductive polyester film and EEK (Polyether ether ketone).
Metal Core PCB
They are another alternative to the typical FR4 board. Metal Core PCB’s are made with a metal core, tend to spread heat more efficiently than other PCB’s. This helps dissipate heat as well as protect more heat-sensitive board parts. They come in different sizes and the largest ever built multi-layer PCB was 50 layers thick.
PCB Design Basics
The printed circuit board assembly or PCB Assembly process starts with the most basic unit of the PCB( The base, which consists of many layers, and each one plays a key role in the functionality of the final PCB). These layers include:
Substrate: The base material of a PCB and provides the PCB its rigidity.
Solder mask: It gives each PCB its characteristic green color as well as insulates copper traces from not deliberately contacting other conductive materials that could result in a short. We can say that the solder keeps everything in its place.
Silkscreen: This is the final layer on a PCB board and it adds labels to the PCB in the form of symbols and characters. Silkscreen layer helps indicate the function of each part on the board.
Copper: It is added to each functional side of the PCB- on one side if it’s a single-sided PCB while on both sides if it’s a double-sided PCB.
Keep in mind that all these materials and parts remain largely the same across all printed circuit boards, with the exception of the substrate. This is because of the substrate material changes according to the specific qualities like cost and bendability. If you choose a reliable manufacturer as your cooperative PCBA Company, then you’re choosing to PCB partner with a service that delivers the best outcomes.
